From Register of Officers in the Confederate States Navy 1861-1865. CHARLES K. MALLORY,  jr. Born in Virginia.  Appointed from Virginia. Acting midshipman, June 12, 1861.  Died June 1, 1863,  from the effect of a boiler explosion.  (CSS Chattahoochee) Served on the C.S.R.S. United States, 1861.  CSS Beaufort, 1861-1862; participated in the Battle of Roanoke Island, February 7-8, 1862, and the Battle of Hampton Roads, Va., March 8-9, 1862; commended for gallant conduct.  (He was still a member of the crew of the CSS Beaufort at this battle.) CSS Chattahoo ..read more

From the April 9, 2024, NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. In the interest of safety and security, the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced today that the Fort Fisher Historic Site will temporarily close to the public beginning Tuesday, April 16 as workers relocate exhibits, artifacts and staff offices to the site' new 20,000 square foot visitors center. In addition, work will begin on the restoration of parts of the fort  which were demolished when the fort was used as an anti-aircraft training facility during World War II This temporary closure refers ..read more

From the August 19, 2014, Civil War Talk Forum by Ernie Mac. When I first saw the last name, I thought perhaps he might have been related to Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory but he wasn't. Midshipman Charles K. Mallory was one of the casualties  of the CSS Chattahoochee, severely scalded in the explosion on May 27, 1863.  He died several days later (June 1) of his injuries. Mallory was a native of Virginia who enlisted as a midshipman at the beginning of the war, serving aboard the CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads.  He was one of two midshipman wh ..read more

The wreck was relocated  using a proton precession magnetometer and wreck structure exposed on the bottom  surface was mapped.  A test excavation was carried out near the south end of the wreckage to facilitate assessing the nature and scope of the archaeological record and generate  data concerning the remaining wreck structure. (Now, that was some last sentence.  Took me forever to type.) Data recovered during the investigation contributed to a better understanding of the wreck and its scientific and educational value. On the basis of this reconnaissance,  it is ..read more

From 1990 report "CSS Chattahoochee:  An Investigation  of the Remains of a Confederate Gunboat" by Gordon P. Watts and Wes Hall. In the Spring of 1865, the Confederate gunboat CSS Chattahoochee  was scuttles and burned in the Chattahoochee River, just south of Columbus, Georgia.  During the Civil War Centennial the vessel's remains were relocated and the stern of the warship salvaged and preserved at the James W. Woodruff, Jr., Confederate Naval Museum  in Columbus. In 1984, East Carolina University and the Naval Museum cosponsored an investigation designed to relocat ..read more

From the June 6, 2023, Georgia Public Radio "Are sunken ships from the Civil War still lying in the Chattahoochee?  What a historian says"  by Kelby Hutchinson. During the Battle of Columbus (Georgia) on April 16, 1865 (Lee had surrendered in Virginia on April 9), two Confederate warships were destroyed.  One was the ironclad CSS Jackson (also called the CSS Muscogee).  The other was the CSS Chattahoochee. Part of the CSS Chattahoochee still remains at the bottom of its namesake river.  The bow end is still somewhere down below.  The National Civil War Naval Museu ..read more

The 130-foot long CSS Chattahoochee was intended to be both a river boat and an ocean-going one.  It was Confederate hopes to sail it down the river and reopen the port of Apalachicola, Florida,  on the Gulf of Mexico. However, the Chattahoochee turned out to be an unlucky ship.  One mishap after another befell her. By far the worst took place on May 27, 1863, when her boilers exploded through crew error and inexperience.  Several were killed and others badly scalded.  This knocked the ship out of the rest of the war. One of the guns on the ship was a IX-inch Dahlgren ..read more

From the January 2, 2024, Early County (Georgia) News  "The History of the Confederate Naval Yard" by Leah Taylor. Confederate naval officers and John H. Warner selected this site because of its remote location and abundance of timber around it.  Another reason was that the landowner, David S. Johnson, was an avid Confederate.  He was chosen to run the shipyard.  This proved to be a poor choice because despite all the timber and a large work force of slaves, he had no experience with shipbuilding at all. The deadline for building his warship, 120 days, came and went with no ..read more

There sure are a lot of Navy Medal of Honor recipients buried at this cemetery.  I wonder if it has anything to do with the Philadelphia Navy Yard being there. John Lafferty, USS Wyalusing, versus CSS Albemarle.  Also received a second medal of Honor in Peru. Nicholas Lear, USS New Ironsides, Fort Fisher Thomas G. Lyons, USS Pensacola, Battle of New Orleans James Martin II, USMC, USS Richmond, Battle of Mobile Bay Matthew McClelland, USS Richmond, Battle of Port Hudson John Smith, USS Richmond, Battle of Mobile Bay William Thompson, USS Mohican, Battle of Port Royal Alexander Truett ..read more

I must admit that both magazines, which I just found out ceased publication in February, had started giving a lot more attention to the naval aspect of the war, which is my favorite aspect.  Too often before they overlooked the Navy.   However, this is very true of Civil War people in general.  It is all the land warfare with water parts taking a distinct hind part. I sure hope someone buys these two magazines or the other seven history ones which were offered by the same company. Sad to See You Go.  --Old B-Runner ..read more